3.23. -- Smoking in the workplace is becoming ________ acceptable.
-- Yes, and that makes more people begin to consider quitting the habit.
(A) less and less (B) more and more (C) more or less (D) fewer and fewer

We’ve heard it before --we’ve heard it on the news, from teachers, from parents -- children

and teenagers today are growing up too fast. There are not too many people that will 36 with that statement. Teenagers are faced with serious problems and decisions at an early 37 . In fact most teenagers’ daily schedules are as 38 as those of an adult’s.

I have been working since I was thirteen, and always in companies in which I was working with adults. I have had to learn to think and 39 like an adult to be taken 40 . So, I count myself as one who has grown up too fast. I just graduated from high school, and have recently spent some time reflecting（反思）on the 41 eighteen years-- thinking about myself, what I have gained, and what 42 I have yet to achieve.

We are expected to work hard, get excellent 43 , be in a good relationship, and know what we want to do 44 . The list goes on and on. But the 45 is clear: We live in a society today that is 46 our childhood. We no longer have many years to be careless and fancy-free. We are expected to 47 the strict school rules and to excel（擅长）in everything we do.

I’ve known these things for a long time, and knew that they 48 me. But, I never really admitted it until last night, when I learned a 49 lesson, taught me by my boss for whom I work. We had finished a job at a remote site. It was about 11:30 at night, and we had gone back to his house. We were talking about the 50 he had been making to his home. One of the things he said was “I 51 my basketball hoop（篮圈）.” Then he threw a basketball to me.

I hadn’t 52 a basketball in five years.

We proceeded to shoot hoops for about 40 minutes. Both of us were terribly bad at it, but we spent the whole time 53 heartily like children. Then I realized something: I am still a child. Oh, the law 54 I’m an adult. But, we are still really and truly children. We all need to have 55 once in a while.

December 6－Canada: For those of you who have been following this story, the third suspect（嫌疑犯）in the Canadian Cat Mutilation（残害）case has been caught. On March 8, after just under a year of searching, the “Find Matt Campaign” received information that would comfort many. Now known as Mattew Kaczorowski, 21 years old, this cat mutilator was picked up by the police from the streets of Vancouver.

In May 2001, three young men took a young cat, named “Kensington” after the area of town from where she was taken, from the street to a house. They began to cruelly treat and mutilate her to death, videotaping the attack. Two of the suspects, recognized as 21-year-old Jesse Champlain Power and 24-year-old Anthony Ryan Wennekers, were arrested shortly after the incident. Neither helped the police in an effort to find the third suspect, at the time known only as “Matt. ”

In May 2002, Katie set up the “Find Matt Campaign”, with the goals of raising public awareness（意识）about animal cruelty and having as many eyes as possible look for Matt.

“I don’t think Matt would have been caught had it not been for Katie Woodward’s information,” said Detective Gordon Scott, one of the arresting officers.

Kaczorowski faces the charges of animal cruelty, theft under $ 5,000 and possession of property taken by crime, but one charge remains absent: that of animal cruelty. According to Canadian law, this kind of crime must be charged within six months.

The case is now before the Courts.

While finding Matt is a big step in the right direction of this case, it is not over. It remains that Kensington’s guardian（监护人）has not yet come forward. It is important that her guardian speak out to lessen the possibility of the charges being dropped.

【題組】56.What does the passage mainly talk about?
(A) A cat was killed cruelly in Canada.
(B) A Canadian cat mutilator was caught.
(C) People pay attention to animal protection.
(D) No crimes can escape from being charged.

37.【題組】57. Which of the following is in correct order according to the time when the events happened?
a. Matt was caught by the police.
b.“Find Matt Campaign” was set up.
c. Jesse and Anthony were soon arrested.
d. Three young men mutilate a cat to death. www.k@s@5@u.com 高#考#资#源#网
e. Katie got the information about the third suspect.
(A) d,c,e,a,b (B) e,a,d,c,b (C) d,c,b,e,a (D) a,d,b,e,c

39.【題組】59. What can we infer from the passage?
(A) Catching Matt was easy for the police.
(B) Very few people care about Matt’s case.
(C) Katie started the “Find Matt Campaign” to protect animals.
(D) The final result of the case depends on the cat’s guardian.

Indian’s snake charmers (耍蛇者) are to be retrained as wildlife teachers under a plan to prevent their unique skills and knowledge from being lost. The charmers, who make snakes dance to the sound of flutes (笛子), used to be a traditional feature of Indian life, performing in towns and villages, until they were banned in 1972 to control the trade in snake skins.

The government is now considering a plan to train the snake charmers, as they are known, to visit schools and zoos to tell children about forests and wildlife. There is also a proposal to set up a “dial a snake charmer” service to help householders to deal with unwelcome intruders (入侵者).

“For generations they have been a feature of Indian life but now they can't earn a living for fear of arrest,” said Behar Dutt, a professor behind the plans, “if a policeman doesn’t catch them, animal rights activists report them.”

Many snake charmers have continued to work clandestinely since the ban, despite the threat of up to three years in jail. But their trademark cloth-covered baskets, hanging from a bamboo pole carried across their shoulders, make them an easy target (目标) for police.

The fate of Shisha Nath, 56, from Badarpur, a village just outside of Delhi, is typical of practitioners (从业者) of the dying art. “I used to earn enough to support my family and send my children to school,” he said. “Now it's hard to earn even for a day. My children want to be snake charmers. It’s our identity. We love the work. But it’s become impossible.”

Next month Dutt’s project to train 30 snake charmers will begin at a snake park in Pune, western India, where experts will enrich their home-grown skills with some formal knowledge.

More than the law, though, it is the dishonest attitude of their fellow countryman that angers many snake charmers.

“We're disturbed all the time but when people want a snake removed from the house, they rush to us,” said Prakash Nath, who was ordered recently to the home of Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party leader.

【題組】60.According to the passage, snake charmers will be retrained as wildlife teachers mainly because_______.
(A) schools need large numbers of such teachers
(B) most of them cannot support their families
(C) their performances on the street are banned
(D) the government plans to save the dying art

41.【題組】61. The purpose of the proposed “dial a snake charmer” in paragraph 2 telephone service is _______.
(A) to give performance of snake dancing
(B) to teach householders how to catch and kill snakes
(C) to offer cleaning service to wealthy householders
(D) to help remove unwanted snakes from the houses

43.【題組】63. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
(A) Snake charmers can easily be recognized by the police on the street.
(B) Children of snake charmers would not like to continue their fathers’ job.
(C) Snake charmers are quite angry with the attitude of their fellow countrymen.
(D) The animal rights activists take a negative attitude towards snake charmers.

Le Whif, an inhaler (吸入剂) that allows chocolate lovers to meet their needs whenever they please without putting on weight, is to be on market in British stores. The invention, called the world’s first breatheable food, lets consumers suck in the taste of chocolate or coffee while taking on less than one calorie. Its makers claim it will enable dieters to enjoy their favorite snacks without worrying about their waistline.

The lip-stick-style tube contains hundreds of milligrams of tiny food particles (粒子) which are small enough to be carried by air, but too large to enter the lungs. Each Le Whif contains enough flavor for about eight to ten whiffs (一阵气味) and costs $1.99 on its own, or $4.99 for a pack of three. The inhaler is available in chocolate as well as coffee flavor.

It was invented by Prof. David Edwards. He said Le Whif was not designed to replace food but could be used to increase dining experiences, such as allowing people to try a variety of dishes from restaurant menus before ordering their meal.

He said, “In terms of living on whiffing, we aren’t even close to being there. But there clearly has been a revolution over the last few years where we are eating smaller amounts of food more frequently, and choosing food for its aesthetic (审美的) pleasure. We will be launching new whiffing experiences probably every six months. It is reasonable to predict that the next line of whiffing products will be even more health centered.”

The product came onto market in Paris in 2009 and the first production run of 25,000 inhalers were sold out within a month. It has since been made available across France and in the US. In Britain Le Whif is to be sold firstly in House of Fraser for a month, after which it could become more widely distributed.

【題組】64.We can learn from Paragraph 1 that _______.
(A) Le Whif isn’t availabe in British stores yet
(B) Le Whif can help dieters to lose weight
(C) Le Whif is calorie-free
(D) Le Whif is popular with British chocolate lovers

46.【題組】66. Which of the following statements does David Edwards agree with?
(A) His new products will come out once a year.
(B) The whiffing products in the future will be improved.
(C) Le Whif can make people eat less food.
(D) Le Whif is a revolution that will change people’s life. www.k@s@5@u.com 高#考#资#源#网

Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you’re happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you’re in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We’re using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating (产生幻觉的) on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it.

I hope I’m reminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you’ve seldom seen before. It’s not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity (无限).

Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there’s more here than that. Van Gogh painted this while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape his prison to true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems … In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair (绝望) and collapse in hopelessness.

Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he is struck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around.

And so the sky flows across the canvas (画布) full of vitality (活力) and power. The stars don’t just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow (发光) with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky.

What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That’s what the angels sing about. Doesn’t it make you want to sing, too?

【題組】67. Looking at the painting Starry Night, we can see all the following except________.
(A) The singing angels (B) the giant trees
(C) the sleepy village (D) the sparkling stars

50.【題組】70. What is the main purpose of this passage?
(A) To explain how Van Gogh painted the Starry Night.
(B) To tell us how to appreciate the Starry Night.
(C) To prove Van Gogh was in a hallucinating state of mind while painting the picture.
(D) To show us the beauty of the sky on a starry night.